The ripples caused by the presidential and National Assembly elections still reverberates across the polity. In the legislature, the upsets is as potent as it is in the executive. It is now clear that several big names of the eight senate would not be coming back to the red chamber.
They include the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, former senate minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Victor Umeh, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, Senator Shehu Sani, Senator Binta Masi Garba, Senator Hamman Isa Misau, Senator Barnabas Gemade, Senator Abiodun Olujimi and Senator George Akume.
The defeat of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, at the polls was the most shocking. Saraki, the strong man of Kwara politics, who was the director general of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign, was dislodged from his Kwara central Senatorial stronghold, where he was senator since 2011, when he completed his two terms as governor of the state before installing his protégé, Abdulfatai Ahmed as his successor. He was defeated by former majority leader in the state House of Assembly, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, of All Progressives Congress (APC), who pulled 123,808 as against Saraki’s 68,994.
Saraki’s defeat was shocking given the level of control and influence he had held in the state since he ventured into the politics of the state in 2003.
Oloriegbe himself is not a newcomer to politics, he was elected a member of the Kwara house of assembly under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 1999. He held sway as majority leader, also Chairman House Committee on Health and House Committee on Local Government till he left in 2003.
He later joined the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) when he ran against Saraki in 2011 for the Senate seat. He was unsuccessful but many believed he was robbed by the court, that Saraki’s victory was influenced by his incumbency power as then governor. He is considered as one of the few men who stood against the reign and style of Saraki regime in Kwara and is part of the “ Oto ge” movement that is making waves in the state.
Another big name that failed to return to the Nigerian senate, is Senator Godswill Akpabio, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, who was the Senate minority leader in the eight senate and only cross carpeted in the heat of the Crisis that rocked the nation’s politics leading to a gale of defections. He was largely seen as strong man of Akwa Ibom politics.
However, things began to turn around when he joined the APC and began working to rebuild the party in the state, much to the consternation of many, who saw it as perfidy borne of greed, being also largely responsible for the emergence of Udom Emmanuel, the incumbent Governor of the state. But Akpabio had said he was a nationalist on a mission to take Akwa Ibom to the larger picture of national politics, that it would be difficult for his State to have a fair share of the national cake while remaining as opposition.
He was defeated by his arch rival and fellow kinsman from the same Ikot Ekpene geo-political entity, former deputy governor of the state, Mr Chris Ekpenyong of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Akpabio polled 83,158 votes against Ekpenyong’s 118,215 votes.
Ekpenyong who was impeached by the state assembly in 2005 to pave the way for Akpabio’s emergence was said to have been drafted by the elders and stakeholders in the state to reclaim the mandate abandoned by the defected former Governor.
Another notable name that will be missing in the roll call of the 9th senate is that of senator George Akume. That strongman of Benue politics. The former Benue State governor and incumbent senator representing Benue North-West Senatorial district, lost his bid to return to the Senate for the fourth time.
Mr. Akume of the All Progressives Congress was defeated by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Orker Jev, a member of the House of Representatives. The PDP candidate polled 157,726 against Mr. Akume’s 115,422 votes. Mr Akume fell out with the state governor, Samuel Ortom, in 2018 when some communities of the state were ravaged by suspected herdsmen.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on National Population and National Identity, Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi is another big name that lost re-election to the senate. Widely regarded as a grassroot politician, a one time chairman of Markafi local government, he is believed to be instrumental in the 2015 election of governor Nasir El-rufai before they fell out. He and Shehu Sani, the other APC senator from Kaduna state were seen as a thorn in the sides of the governor. He was part of the restoration faction in Kaduna APC and was among the 14 senators who decamped to other parties in July 19, 2018 as a result of the crisis in the APC. He returned to his former Party, the PDP and won its senatorial ticket after losing the Gubernatorial primary to Isa Ashiru.
He lost the senatorial seat to Suleiman Abdu Kwari, who pulled 411,498 as against his 181,955 votes. Mr Kwari is seen as a political newcomer who enjoys the strong support of governor Nasir el-Rufai being his commissioner of finance since 2015.
The radical and controversial senator Shehu Sani would also not be returning to the Senate. Sani who won the Senate seat on the platform of the APC in 2015, but later defected to the PRP after he lost in the APC primaries. Sani had been at teeth and dagger with Governor el- Rufai since the advent of the APC administration.
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Pundits saw it as a zero battle of survival between two conflicting conceptions of politics. He and the PDP candidate, Lawal Adamu were defeated by Uba Sani, former Adviser to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai on Political matters. While Uba got 355,242 votes, is closest rival Lawal Adamu of the PDP, scored 195,497 votes and Shehu Sani scored 70,613 votes.
Another face that will be absent at the 9th senate, is that of senator Binta Masi Garba. The only female northern senator in the 8th senate and before that she served at the Federal House of Representatives three times, from 1999 to 2011. She was swept by the bandwagon effect of Atiku’s PDP’s presidential bid, being from the same home state as Turaki. Recall that Mr Abubakar floored his opponent, President Muhammadu Buhari in Adamawa State.
Binta polled 63,219 votes as against the PDP candidate for the Adamawa North senatorial election, Mr Ishaku Cliff, who got 78,337 votes.
Another big name that will not be returning is the chairman Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Hamman Isa Misau ( PDP, Bauchi Central). He was the senator at the centre of the controversy with the Nigerian police force, his former employers and was in the pro- Saraki camp at the height of the Executive-Legislative feud.
He crossed over to the PDP along with the gale of defections that rocked the APC. He was defeated by the candidate of the APC, Haliru Jika who polled 120,871 as against his 57,069 votes and Alhaji Bappah Aliyu of the PRP, who polled 66,024 votes.
Haliru Jika, is a member representing Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He was one time Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly.
Senator Barnabas Gemade is another name that will be absent at the 9th senate after he was defeated by former governor, Gabriel Suswan of the PDP. The former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who was elected Senator for the Benue North East constituency of Benue State, in 2011 but dumped the PDP for the APC in December 2014 fearing he would not win the party’s ticket and accusing the then governor Gabriel Suswam of hijacking the process.
Gemade went on to pick the APC ticket and defeated Mr Suswam.
Gemade left the APC last year as a result of the crisis in the party, defecting alongside governor Ortom, he was one of the 14 senators who left the ruling party to PDP. The PDP of his arch rival, Gabriel Suswam. Efforts by the Uche secondus- led PDP leadership to broker a peace deal between Gemade and Suswam failed, leaving both of them to go into the contest.
Sensing that Suswam was favoured to beat him in the PDP race, he dumped the party after just eight weeks to pitch tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Another name that will be missing will be that of senator Abiodun Olujimi representing Ekiti south on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party. She was defeated by Prince Adedayo Adeyeye who scored 77, 621 votes against her 53, 741 votes. Olujimi was deputy minority whip and she later took over the seat of erstwhile Minority Leader in the Senate, Godswill Akpabio when he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in August of 2018.
Her re-election campaign was not an easy task as she encountered inter-party friction from the likes of former governor Ayo Fayose. Fayose was even seen in a short video campaigning against her. The battle line was said to be drawn when she and Fayose struggled for the leadership of the party in the Southwest, Olujimi relying on the party said as the highest ranking political office holder in the Southwest (senate minority leader) she will co-ordinate Atiku campaign but Governor Fayose insisted that as former governor of the only state PDP ruled, he would.
The incoming senator is a former Minister of Works and governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who left the PDP to the APC citing the tyrannical tendency of Ayo Fayose in Ekiti PDP.
Senator Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) is another big name that lost his re-election bid to the Senate. He was defeated by Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressives Party (YPP). Dr. Ubah who polled 87,081 votes defeated the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, All Progressive Congress, APC, All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chiefs Chris Ubah, Andy Ubah and Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 52,462, 13,245 and 51,269 votes, respectively.
The defeated senator was a one time close ally of former PDP president, Olusegun Obasanjo, Uba was known as the godfather of Anambra politics since 1999 and had been sponsoring candidates for political positions both in the PDP and other political parties. He had been representing Anambra south Senatorial district since 2011 on the platform of the PDP, he however decamped to the APC in February 2017 to contest the governorship primary but lost to Dr Tony Nwoye.
Andy Uba’s bid to become Senate President was a campaign issue he sought to win over the electorate in Anambra South but in the final outcome they decided otherwise.
Another big name that lost his re-election to the Senate is Chief Victor Umeh.
The former APGA Chairman lost to his arch rival Sen. Uche Ekwunife of PDP. Ekwunife a two term member of the House of Representatives, was a candidate of the PDP in the last 2015 general election which she won before the election tribunals declared her victory null and void in favour of Senator Victor Umeh. She polled a total number of 18,412 votes ahead of Mr Umeh, who got 14,403. Both of them are renowned political gladiators in Anambra state. Pundits believe that Ekwunife must have rode on the Atiku/Obi tsunami in the southeast to boot out Umeh.
